The doctoral program “Interpretative Educational Research” at the Department of Education and Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin enables doctoral candidates to pursue their doctorates in a structured research environment while working on their own individual doctoral theses. They receive comprehensive professional and personal support, advice, and guidance from a team of expert professors. The doctoral projects vary greatly in terms of content, methodology, and theory. However, the common denominator of all projects is their location in the field of interpretive educational science.

The doctoral program “Interpretative Educational Research” addresses fundamental questions relating to education and upbringing. This includes research

Despite the thematic breadth of the individual questions, the doctoral projects are characterized by a common interpretative interest in knowledge. This means that social reality in the research work is understood as socially constructed—shaped by interpretations and processes of meaning assignment that need to be explored on the basis of different methods of data collection and evaluation. A central focus of the dissertation projects is on qualitative methods of educational research. Quantitative or mixed-method approaches are also welcome, if they correspond to this fundamental understanding of the construction of reality. 

As part of the doctoral program, the aim is to introduce all students to the theoretical and methodological foundations of the field through an appropriate module structure, as well as to offer key qualifications such as scientific writing and the fundamentals of good scientific practice. A key element is the KolloquiumHoch4. The doctoral colloquium is an event that will accompany students throughout their studies and provides a central forum for exchange. All doctoral candidates and professors from the participating departments come together and use the colloquium to obtain input on organizational and content-related issues relating to their doctorates and to discuss their own doctoral requirements with their peers.